Advent 3: The light shines in darkness

One of the important themes in Advent is hope, and it is this hope that keeps us have faith to wait, fight on and believe. Since hope is about waiting, the difficulty of hope is not waiting itself, but rather is what kind of condition that you are are. If your condition is gradually moving towards what you are hoping (like getting married), waiting may not be that worse. But if your condition is in a desperate condition and even deteriorating (sickness), waiting may mean suffering more than hope. The latter is the context that I am going to explore the message of that ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.’ (John 1:5)

Unlike many countries, Hong Kong is not suffered from political oppression. Therefore, democracy in Hong Kong does not have a high priority in the mind of the people. However, when we find that the current government is lack of vision of Hong Kong, democracy becomes necessary, not because democracy saves, but because we can move away the ineffective government. Ironically, this is not something that we can decide on our own. In fact, the Chinese government uses different means to stop the process of democratization in Hong Kong. Do we really believe that we have universal suffrage in 2017? Does waiting mean anything? On the other hand, such kind of hopeless situation is also found in the concern of climate change in Copenhagen. The serious sickness of the earth does not earn the pity of many governments. Rather economic growth is still in the high priority. We have to ask how long our earth can sustain. Can we wait for the day of conversion of the governments?

Another context is that our society is getting more homogenous than before, and everyone is forced to follow a kind of pattern of life. As a result, there is not much space for the young people and different people to survive and develop their potentiality. Let me give you two examples. Firstly, there is the tendency of ‘degree-zation’. In the West, being an animal nurse does not need to have a university degree, and therefore, this is a career for those completed high school. But recently, City University will offer a degree of animal nursing. I do not see it as a matter of raising the academic standard, but rather this exploits the opportunities of the high school leavers who do not reach the university requirement. Studying at university becomes to be an only option for young people, but there is nothing left for those who fail to get into it. Secondly, due to the change of economic structure, the government has spent 10 years to fix out what the next Hong Kong is, but unfortunately, Hong Kong still relies on financial and service industry. This does not help the people much, for this will further marginalize the less advantaged. An example of these is the prices of the flats. Our city is no longer for the people of Hong Kong, but for people who are rich enough. The low birth rate Hong Kong is not because the couple does not like children, but they do not see hope in the future of Hong Kong.

The final context comes to my mind is the personal issue. Since everyone is different, I am not able to give a generalization of the issues that each person faces. How do we keep hope in a broken relationship, deteriorating health and tight budget? What is the meaning of ‘the light shines in the darkness’?

The light shines in the darkness convinces us that there is light, and Jesus is the light. Thus, the issue is not where the light is, but rather the clouds are too thick so that it prevents the light shining through. What are the clouds? The clouds are both the external conditions and internal condition that I have mentioned. Can the light shine through it even as a very weak light? And can we do something to clear the sky?

Perhaps, we have had a lot of stories of how God works in our lives. These kinds of witnesses are very powerful, for we see the light in the darkness. Although we may not be the one who has experienced such kind of God’s gracious act, we are strengthened by listening to these stories. However, I have to admit that these kinds of witnesses may sometimes be turned to a kind of ‘Q’ spirit. Thus, I prefer to say that I experience the light in the darkness in worship. Our prayers, praises, lament and thanksgiving in the worship have convinced me that God is here. Where there is worship in a church, God is there and the light is shining. This gives us the reason why we come to worship. We not just come for friendship, but also for seeing the light. On the one hand, there is a light during worship. On the other hand, we are witnessing to the light during worship.

Since the cloud is thick that it prevents the light shinning through, what we do is not just to wait for the cloud moving away. What I am thinking is that the light does not come from above only, but ironically, the light can come from darkness within, because Jesus has incarnated into the world. In other words, we can see the light in darkness. Here, I gradually realize that it is not necessarily the external frustrations make us fail to see the light. Rather our desires, expectation and dream also prevent us to see the light. What I mean is that Jesus is assumed to be the victor, not the sufferer; rich, not the poor; peaceful, not struggling. As a result, we cannot see the light, because the light that Jesus has shown us is the light in the form of suffering, poor and struggling.

God shines through our worship as well as our struggle. May this message in the Advent strengthen our hope in waiting.